Pistis Sophia

Pistis Sophia

Standard abbreviation: Pist. Soph.

Other titles: Wisdom of Faith, Books of the Savior

Clavis numbers: ECCA 643; CANT 28

Category: Revelatory Dialogues

Related literature: Apocryphon of John, Books of Jeu, Gospel of Mary

Compiled by Caroline Crews, PhD. University of Texas at Austin

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Crews, Caroline. “Pistis Sophia.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/pistis-sophia/.

Created January 2021. Current as of February 2024.

1. SUMMARY

Preserved only in Codex Askewianus (Askew Codex), the Pistis Sophia contains a post-resurrection dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. Although the Pistis Sophia is typically assumed to have been composed in Greek, the language of its composition has been debated. It survives only in Sahidic Coptic, and small references to Egyptian months suggests an Egyptian provenance at least for the Askew Codex, if not for the Pistis Sophia, as well. The 2nd and 3rd centuries CE have been proposed as the text’s compositional date; the composition, however, lacks homogeneity. Several repetitions of episodes and inconsistencies in names and setting suggest that the text is a compilation from different texts of different titles. The title, Pistis Sophia, comes from a note within the text: “The Second Book of the Pistis Sophia” (Book II, Chapter 63). This note appears to be a later insertion by a different hand. A different title appears later in the narrative: “A Part of the Books of the Savior” (Book II, Chapter 100; Book II, Chapter 101; Book III, Chapter 135). G. R. S. Mead considers the latter to be the correct title of the text.

The narrative begins by noting that Jesus had been instructing his disciples for eleven years after his death and resurrection, but during that time, he had not shared everything with them. One day, Jesus is surrounded by light and ascends to heaven, descending back down to them a short time later. At this point, he begins to divulge further information about the other Mysteries. The text is presented as a dialogue, with the disciples asking Jesus questions for him to answer. Most of the questions are posed by Mary, paralleling Mary’s role in the Gospel of Mary. Both Mary the Mother and Mary Magdalene are mentioned in the text, but most of the questions are asked by an ambiguous “Mary.”

In Book I, Jesus reveals that he cast his own body and soul into Mary, before also explaining the nature of the twelve disciples. Then, across both Books I and II, Jesus tells the disciples about saving the character Pistis Sophia from Chaos and from persecution by other figures, paralleling the Sophia myth in the Apocryphon of John. A pattern arises throughout this section of the narrative: Jesus provides the disciples with information on Pistis Sophia’s journey and her songs of repentance and of praise; the disciples then demonstrate their understanding by citing the prophetic material anticipating Pistis Sophia’s journey and songs (i.e., Psalms of David, Psalms of Solomon, Odes of Solomon). Book III covers specific questions on a variety of subjects, including proselytizing, forgiveness, the nature of baptism, punishments for sin, and the patriarchs. In this section, the dialogue develops a different pattern from the prior one: Jesus expands upon a parable or pericope from the Synoptics to explain their applicability to the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Light.

Although the same dialogue format continues, Book IV appears to be a different narrative with a different temporal and geographical setting. At this occasion, the disciples are gathered on the Mount of Galilee immediately after his resurrection, not on the Mount of Olives eleven years after the resurrection, as mentioned in Book I. Many of the questions posed by the disciples concern specific situations or individuals (e.g., murderers, blasphemers, pederasts), and Jesus explains the ways these individuals will be punished. Redefining baptism, Jesus also demonstrates a specific ritual to forgive sins through the use of fire, branches, water, wine, and bread.

Named Historical Figures and Characters: Adamas, Andrew (apostle), Bartholomew (apostle), David (king), Elizabeth, Gabriel (angel), Ialdabaoth, James (son of Zebedee), Jesus Christ, Jeu, John (apostle), John (the Baptist), Joseph (of Nazareth), Martha (of Bethany), Mary Magdalene, Mary (Virgin), Matthew (apostle), Melchizedek, Michael (angel), Moses (patriarch), Peter (apostle), Philip (apostle), Pistis Sophia, Salome (disciple), Simon (the Canaanite/Zealot), Solomon (king), Thomas (apostle)

Geographical Locations: Mount of Galilee, Mount of Olives.

2. RESOURCES

2.1 Web Sites

“Askew Codex.” Wikipedia.

“Pistis Sophia.” Early Christian Writings.

“Pistis Sophia.” Gnostic Society Library (translation by G. R. S. Mead).

“Pistis Sophia.” Wikipedia.

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Coptic (CPC 0687; PAThs entry)

London, British Library, Add. 5114 (Codex Askewianus; CMCL.AQ), pp. 1–231 (ca/ 250–300) ~ CATALOG; PAThs

Schmidt, Carl (ed.), and Violet MacDermot (trans.). Pistis Sophia. The Coptic Gnostic Library. Leiden: Brill, 1978 (edition of Schmidt with notes and translation by MacDermot).

Schmidt, Carl. Pistis Sophia. Ein gnostisches Originalwerk des dritten Jahrhunderts aus dem Koptischen übsersetzt. In neuer Bearbeitung mit einleitenden Untersuchungen und Indices herausgegeben. Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1925 (Coptic text revised from 1905).

——— (ed.) and Hans-Martin Schenke (trans.). Koptisch-Gnostische Schriften. Erster Band: Die Pistis Sophia, Die beiden Bücher des Jeû, Unbekanntes altgnostisches Werk. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1905 (German translation with corrections of edition by Schwartze).

Schwartze, Moritz Gotthilf, and Julius Heinrich Petermann. Pistis Sophia. Opus gnosticum Valentino adiucatum e codice manuscript gnostico Londinensi. Berlin: Ferdinand Duemmler, 1851 (editio princeps with Latin translation).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 Dutch

Rijckenborgh, Jan van. De gnostieke mysteriën van de Pistis Sophia. Haarlem: Rozekruis Pers, 1992.

3.2.2 English

Legge, Francis and George William Horner. Pistis Sophia, literally translated from the Coptic. New York and Toronto: The Macmillan Co., 1924.

MacDermot, Violet. The Fall of Sophia: A Gnostic Text on the Redemption of Universal Consciousness. Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books, 2001 (reproducing MacDermot’s 1978 translation with new commentary).

Mead, G. R. S. Pistis Sophia: A Gnostic Miscellany: Being for the Most Part Extracts from the Books of the Saviour, to which Are Added Excerpts from a Cognate Literature. Ulthar: Celepha’s Press, 2007 (reprinted from original publications in 2005, 1921, and 1896).

Schmidt, Carl (ed.), and Violet MacDermot (transl.). Pistis Sophia. The Coptic Gnostic Library. Leiden: Brill, 1978 (reproducing Schmidt’s 1925 edition for new English translation)

3.2.3 French

Amélineau, Émile. Pistis Sophia – ouvrage Gnostique de Valentin. Traduit du copte en français avec une introduction. Paris: Chamuel, 1895 (translated into French from the Latin translation).

3.2.4 German

Rijckenborgh, Jan van. Die gnostischen Mysterien der Pistis Sophia. Betrachtungen zum ersten Buch der Pistis Sophia. Birnbach: DRP Rosenkreuz, 2003 (translated from the Dutch translation).

Schmidt, Carl. Koptisch-Gnostische Schriften. Erster Band: Die Pistis Sophia, Die beiden Bücher des Jeû, Unbekanntes altgnostisches Werk. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1905 (German translation with corrections of edition by Schwartze).

Siegert, Christa. Pistis Sophia: Unterweisungen des Christus im Jüngerkreis über die Mysterien im Lichtreich. Birnbach: DRP-Rosenkreuz, 2005.

3.2.5 Italian

Moraldi, Luigi. Pistis Sophia. Milano: Adelphi, 1999.

3.2.6 Latin

3.2.7 Spanish

Aun Weor, Samael. Pistis Sophia Develado. Karma Seven, 1998 (originally and posthumously published in 1983, translated from Mead’s English translation).

3.3 General Works

Andresen, Carl. “Pistis Sophia.” In Lexikon der Alten Welt, 2334. Zürich: Artemis, 1965.

Aun Weor, Samael. The Gnostic Bible: The Pistis Sophia Unveiled. Brooklyn: Glorian Publishing, 2011.

Bozzone, A. M. “Pistis Sophia.” Dizionario Ecclesiastico 3 (1958): 235.

Branco, Raul. “The Pistis Sophia: An Introduction.” Quest 99.4 (2011): 144–51.

Brock, Ann Graham. “The Identity of the Blessed Mary, Representative of Wisdom in Pistis Sophia.” Pages 122–35 in Walk in the Ways of Wisdom: Essays in Honor of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. Edited by Shelly Matthews, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, and Melanie Johnson-DeBaufre. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2003.

———. “Setting the Record Straight—the Politics of Identification: Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother in Pistis Sophia.” Pages 43–52 in Which Mary?: The Marys of Early Christian Tradition. Edited by F. Stanley Jones. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2002.

Burkitt, Francis C. “‘Pistis Sophia’ and the Coptic Language.” JTS 27.106 (1926): 148–57.

———. “Pistis Sophia Again.” JTS 26.104 (1925): 391–99.

———. “Pistis Sophia.” JTS 23.91 (1922): 271–80.

Carmignac, Jean. “Le Genre Littéraire du ‘Péshèr’ dans la Pistis-Sophia.” RevQ 4.4 (1964): 497–522.

Dalgaard, Kaspar. “Multiple Melchizedeks in the ‘Books of Jeu’ and ‘Pistis Sophia.’” Henoch 38.1 (2016): 54–66.

Enslin, Morton S. “Pistis Sophia.” Page 820 in vol. 3 of The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by George A. Buttrick. 4 vols. New York; Nashville: Abingdon, 1962.

Evans, Erin. The Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia as Handbooks to Eternity: Exploring the Gnostic Mysteries of the Ineffable. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2015.

Gianotto, Claudio. “Le processus salvifique des âmes selon la Pistis Sophia (Codex Askewianus).” Pages 339–56 in Nag Hammadi à 70 ans, qu’avons-nous appris? (Colloque international, Québec, Université Laval, 29-31 mai 2015). Edited by Eric Crégheur, Louis Painchaud, and Tumoas Rasimus. Leuven and Paris: Peeters, 2019.

Good, Deirdre. “Pistis Sophia.” Pages 678–707 in Searching the Scriptures. Volume Two: A Feminist Commentary. Edited by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. London: SCM Press, 1994.

Harnack, Adolf. Über das gnostische Buch Pistis-Sophia. Brod und Wasser: Die eucharistischen Elemente bei Justin. Zwei Untersuchungen. TU 7.2. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1891.

Jansen, Herman Ludin. “Bibelske tekster i Pistis Sophia.” DTT 21 (1958): 210–18.

Köstlin, K. R. “Das gnostische System des Buches Pistis Sophia.” Theologische Jahrbücher 13 (1854): 1–104, 137–95.

Kragerud, Alv. Die Hymnen der Pistis Sophia. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1967.

Leisegang, Hans. “Er Sofia-teksten en mysterieliturgi?” NTTt 68 (1967): 91–93.

———. “Gnostic Interpretation in Pistis Sophia.” Pages 106–11 in Proceedings of the IXth International Congress for the History of Religions, Tokyo and Kyoto 1958, August 27th–September 9th. Tokyo: Maruzen, 1960.

———. “Pistis Sophia.” Pages 1813–21 in Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft 20.2. Waldsee: Alfred Druckenmüller, 1950.

Lexa, František. “La Légenda Gnostique sur Pistis Sophia et Le Mythe Ancien Égyptien sur L’Oeil de Rē.” Egyptian Religion 1 (1933): 106–15.

Marjanen, Antti. The Woman Jesus Loved: Mary Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi Library and Related Documents. Leiden: Brill, 1996 (esp. pp. 170–88).

Mohri, Erika. Maria Magdalena: Frauenbilder in Evangelientexten des 1. bis 3. Jahrhunderts. Marburg: Elwert, 2000.

Ofek, Galia. “‘Reviewing the Rites Proper to Canonisation’: New Woman Novels and New Conceptions of Canonicity.” Victorian Literature and Culture 38.1 (2010): 165–86.

Parkhouse, Sarah. “The Canon of the Pistis Sophia Books 1–3.” JTS 73 (2022): 649–75.

Puech, Henri-Charles. “The Pistis Sophia.” Pages 361–69 in vol. 1 of New Testament Apocrypha. Edited by W. Schneemelcher. Translated by R. McL. Wilson. 2 vols. Rev. ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1991.

Quispel, Gilles. “Pistis Sophia.” Pages 368–88 in vol. 5 of Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Edited by Kurt Galling. 3rd ed. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1961.

———. “Pistis Sophia.” Page 461 in vol. 5 of Christelijke Encyclopedie. Edited by F. W. Grosheide and G. P. van Itterzon. Kampel: J. H. Kok, 1960.

Schmidt, Carl. “Die Urschrift der Pistis Sophia.” ZNW 24 (1925): 218–40.

———. “Bemerkungen zum Dialekt der Pistis Sophia.” ZAS 41.1 (1905): 309–11.

Shoemaker, Stephen J. “A Case of Mistaken Identity? Naming the Gnostic Mary.” Pages 5–30 in Which Mary?: The Marys of Early Christian Tradition. Edited by F. Stanley Jones. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2002.

Trautmann, C. “La citation du Psaume 85 (84, 11-12) et ses commentaires dans la Pistis Sophia.” RHPR 59.3-4 (1979): 551–57.

Unnik, W. C. van. “Die ‘Zahl der vollkommenen Seelen’ in der Pistis Sophia.” Pages 467–77 in Abraham Unser Vater: Festschrift für O. Michel. Edited by O. Betz, M. Hengel, and P. Schmidt. Leiden: Brill, 1963.

Vliet, Jacques van der. “Fate, Magic and Astrology in Pistis Sophia, chaps 15–21.” Pages 519–36 in The Wisdom of Egypt: Jewish, Early Christian, and Gnostic Essays in Honour of Gerard P. Luttikhuizen. Edited by Anthony Hilhorst and George H. van Kooten. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2005.

Widengren, Geo. “Die Hymnen der Pistis Sophia und die gnostische Schriftauslegung.” Pages 269–81 in Liber Amicorum. Studies in honour of Professor Dr. C.J. Bleeker. Published on the occasion of his retirement from the chair of the history of religions and the phenomenology of religion at the University of Amsterdam. Leiden: Brill, 1969.

Winter, Franz. “Studying the ‘Gnostic Bible’: Samael Aun Weor and the Pistis Sophia.” International Journal for the Study of New Religions 9.1 (2018): 83–112.

Worrell, W. H. “The Odes of Solomon and the Pistis Sophia.” JTS 13.49 (1911): 29–46.